Is the Ghoul race actually playable?

[Honorable_D]

That -20% global speed seems pretty damning what with Speed being one of the most powerful stats in the game. I want to make a Ghoul though, just not sure what class can get by with being 20% slower at everything.

Any of you Win with a Ghoul?

[.//slayer]

Ghouls are well suited for magic classes, when you don't have to move around too much and prefer to blast enemies from afar, while also boosting your survivability with that insane HP factor. So, I suggest trying a Paradox Mage/Archmage first.

[Honorable_D]

No go on Necromancer? If I was to guess at a class they'd be okay at it'd be the Necromancer. :o

I don't have Paradox Mage unlocked. >_<

[one thousand kisses]

I had a pretty easy win with a ghoul sun paladin a long time ago, before paladins were buffed.

[Работяга с Завода]

only 14 winners for two years beat this game on nm/rq as a ghoul.
http://te4.org/characters-vault?tag_name=&tag_level_min=&tag_level_max=&tag_winner=winner&tag_permadeath[]=roguelike&tag_difficulty[]=nightmare&tag_race[]=ghoul#

only 2 winners for 1.3.1.

Even a yeek race have a better results. 4 winners for 1.3.1 and ~25 winners for all time.

So a ghoul is most hardcore race in TOME. Lol.

[Ranger Gilan]

Now you have me wanting to try a ghoul race run sometime.....dang it

[Gluecost]

I might have to give a ghoul a shot, i haven't used the undead races nearly as much due to being unable to use infusions.

But perhaps ill try a sun paladin ghoul since they are tanky and can deal with less speed, or i might do a shadowblade just to get the bonus global speed to overcome it.

Id imagine a ghoul bulwark towards late game would be nearly indestructible

[JacksonTriggs Fan]

Looks like most of the winners are Archmages, at that: The most OP class. And most plain winners of it are in the Arena, not in the actual game at all.

[Gluecost]

Looks like my next win is def going to be a ghoul sun paladin then

Will report back when done

[Ranger Gilan]

Best of luck on your journey!

[Honorable_D]

Should give us updates on major events such as your thoughts on clearing the early game dungeons (The Maze, Sandworm Lair etc and how they went) and of course how the "Master" fight went and so on.

[Gluecost]

So far these are the things i have learned with my ghoul sun paladin.

1) early game is really rough in some situations. The -20% global speed can be extremely punishing in most scenarios where you are simply trying to recover.
(rares/bosses with a speed advantage are devastating)

2) no use of infusions means your endurance heavily relys on shielding or hoping that your heals (that take a turn to use) are enough to tide you over. Conclusion, phase door runes are a bad idea, as they generally dont grant enough distance to be worthwhile. Teleport is a better way to 'reroll' your encounter and hope for some breathing room. advised to only use in really bad losing scenarios, or if you cleared most of the floor.

3) Alll deaths have occured due to an unfortunate treasure chest that resulted in a boss that was either too strong, or had an advantage that really countered the lack of global speed (bee boss with base 200% global speed)
needless to say, it was an uphill battle that was lost.

My current Ghoul who has 1 death (doing adventure mode to make it to all phases of the playthrough so i can properly assess how to proceed past scenarios in which i lost)
is finishing up the sandworm lair and will be moving onto the master.

so far the biggest hinderences or difficulties i've encountered stem from lack of mobility, or shortchanging myself by using my ghoul leap/path of the sun in a sub optimal manner.
This can be easily offset with +movement speed, or items that grant you rush or global speed.

I am confident that as i trend more towards late game and hit about level 30 which is a sweet spot for sun paladins, it will be an easy breeze through the east.

I can say as well, skeletons are most definitly superior since they have near as good racials without the natural speed disadvantage.

[Gluecost]

I went ahead and recorded floors 8 and 9 of dreadfel to capture the fight with the master, and also the fight with the orcs afterwards on my stream.

If you wanna see how it played out

http://www.twitch.tv/gluecostx/v/14395183

[Honorable_D]

Your character's name being Ainz and also being undead reminds me of a recent anime that features an undead protagonist.

Seems you had gained enough levels to offset the poor speed. Only 1-2 spots on the Master fight did you eve drop below 50% and similar on the orcs. Never made a Sun Paladin but they seem to have pretty great AoE.

Ya, its looking like you're on the verge of becoming darn near invincible.

[Ranger Gilan]

Congrats on your progress and I'm amazed at the speed of progression. Keep it up :D

[Gluecost]

Alright, Ghoul sun paladin has finished!

Honorable_D
you are correct, Ainz Ooal Gown was the reason a ghoul sun paladin sounded all to fun to play ^_^

heres the final character (Only 1 death was rather early game. I had a few deaths to atmathon after winning for fun, sadly he was too much and i couldnt beat him.)
If you want to see resist/immunities id advise checking the stream for some numbers to see what i had defensively, as that was a huge part of the success.

http://te4.org/characters/108051/tome/7a516d79-5ed3-45cb-aefa-4b9091dac6ee

Additionally i streamed the slime tunnels and the high peak ascent.
I was trying to get through it as quick as possible and it ended up taking a bit longer but here it is.

http://www.twitch.tv/gluecostx/v/14498176

Final thoughts.
While that 20% global penalty really hurts early on in the game, its really not to bad to compensate for with appropriate gear and skills as you progress.
Sun paladins come with enough mobility talents to give options, and they generally are good about tanking damage, and winning through endurance.
It seemed like a good combo and it pulled together nicely.
Most difficult part is easily levels 1-20 anywhere during then, one bad rare or boss can really punish you for being slower, and you dont quite have enough skills or gear to endure a lot of damage.
Level 25 and on though i seldom would notice the global penalty as i progressed, and 35+ i was at the invincible phase where being less than 50% health was a rare thing.

Tips i learned while playing a ghoul
Movement speed items, it really helps you make manuvers, retreat, approach, and generally makes it less punishing to move due to your natural slower speeds.
Stack resistance rather than damage. You damage should come naturally from skills, gear should be pushed towards resistance, and status immunities.
Being that slow means you will occasionally take two spells back to back so nasty burst is expected and should be planned accordingly.
Teleport rune, items that let you charge/jump to and away are invaluable as well.

Sorry for the wall of text, but it was actually quite a learning experience for me and actually my first win with an undead!

Hope you enjoy!